Jtoy 17, 1897.] 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
48 
little village before the sun had fairly cleared the distant 
hilltops. HereTve found everything in its quietude. Two or 
three of the Indians, with guns, were seen hurrying toward 
the dense forest, hut they paid no attention to us. We said 
nothing, hut watched them as they passed over the distant 
hilltop and wondered what specimen of the fur or feathered 
tribe would accompany them on their return home. A few 
minutes later a score or more made their appearance, which 
made the village present quite an animated scene. They 
were large muscular fellows, with high cheekbones and dis- 
torted faces. 
Their costumes differed but very little in ornamentation. 
A dirty flannel shirt, dilapidated trousers and seal-skin 
moccasins form the daily apparel of a large proportion of 
us, we could have alraqst realized that we were in the Ice- 
landic region. 
We tried to gain admittance to several of the shanties, but 
found out that it was no easy matter to do so. Following 
the narrow path which led down through the valley to our 
boat, we came to another path which crossed in an opposite 
direction. We followed this path, and it brought us to the 
top of a rocky knoll, and from here we saw away out at the 
foot of a great hill, where the crows and chickadees call all 
the year round, a dilapidated shanty, which looked as if it 
had passed its usefulness many years ago. On going nearer 
we saw smoke rising from the canted chimney on the op- 
posite side. "Surely, it must be serving as a shelter for some 
one," said Ned, as be glanced at the coils of black smoke 
the meal with him. Although extremely hungry, we did 
not have the courage to accept the invitation to dine in that 
style. The biscuits had a knotty appearance, and looked as 
though they might make one feel a trifle heavy-laden if they 
ate one; and as we were taking no chances in this lonely 
region, we thought best to hold out till we arrived at Lubec. 
In a little room adjacent was his cot, a rude affair which 
hardly cleared the floor. At the head of his bed stood a 
roughly made table, covered with cups and dippers, from 
which came a strong odor of pennyroyal and other herbs. 
These herbs, with tobacco, he uses freely, and to which he 
attributes his long life and continued good health. 
Time had passed rapidly in this interesting little room, and 
as we arose to go he grasped our hands and bid us farewell. 
He stood in his doorway and watched us until we disap- 
peared from view behind the hills, perhaps never to meet 
again. 
The return trip was by no means an easy one, as it required 
two hours of constant labor at the oars before we saw even 
the faint glimmer of Lubec light, which was situated at the 
narrows nearly three miles away. 
We reached Lubec, however, at a late hour^ but knowing 
more about Indian life than we ever knew before. 
Otis P. Qovid, 
CAMP ON THE BANKS OF COBSCOOK BAY. 
them. While strolling around the village we came across a 
group of wickerware makers sitting upon the ground busily 
engaged at their work. This was a subject that I had been 
wanting for a long time, and not many minutes passed before 
our cameras were m position and ready for a picture, but 
they were an inquisitive set, and of course dropped their 
work quickly and gathered around us. Being unable to 
speak their language we could not explain what we were 
about to do. The more that was said to them the more 
stupid they seemed to grow. 
Getting impatient we began packing up our cameras, and 
this seemed to have the desired eifect, as they returned to their 
places at onoe. We placed our cameras in position again 
only to find them crowding around us once more. 
After a long time the older ones seemed to understand 
what we wanted them to do, and after consulting with the 
others they walked lazily away. But then it was with no 
little difficulty that they were induced to return to their 
places again. For the first time we realized that it was no 
easy task to obtain pictures of picturesque people in the 
backwoods ; they are most apt of all to regard any attempt to 
photograph them as an attempt on their lives; this is 
especially so with the younger class who, when a camera is 
pointed at them, run about with, the agility of a squirrel 
seeking a place of safety. 
The few who did consent to have their pictures taken 
proved so wooden-headed that it was diflicult to get them 
to pose properly. A snap-shot was taken, however, and 
then the trouble began. Evidently they had never before 
been visited by the camera fiend, as they are entirely 
ignorant of the camera and of course knew nothing about 
the time required to produce a finished picture. Gathering 
around us they began to clamor in an excited manner and 
wanted to see the picture which they had now found out 
something about. They insisted on having a copy at once. 
Explanations were. out of the question, of course, and the 
predicament became anything but humorous. Promisino- 
them a copy at some future day we departed in time to look 
up some more scenes of Indian life. 
The fact that more than three-fourths of the population 
are full-blooded Indians is enough of itself to account for 
much of the picturesqueness of customs and costumes. 
They are expert basket makers, and all sorts of things are 
skillfully made from the hammered ash, and so gayly 
colored that it would drive a peacock to suicide to look at 
them. Canoe building is another occupation which many 
of them engage in before the hunting season commences. 
We saw a dozen fine canoes at different places which were 
receiving the finishing touches. These Indians are fine 
workmen, and with a few strips of birch bark and a little 
pitch, both of which are gathered in the forest, they will 
mold out a canoe of which any one would feel proud to be 
the owner. An Indian would not be a true red man if he 
did not care for hunting, while they depend largely on 
canoe and basket making for a living. Yet they do not by 
any means let it interfere with their hunting. A close 
watch is kept on the shores of the river and the borders of 
the woods around them, where deer, moose and bear make 
frequent calls. During the hunting season it is seldom that 
their tables are found without fresh venison. If the num- 
ber of hides which are seen stretched on the doors of their 
shanties drying in the sun is anything to go by, then they 
must have been well rewarded for their long tramps in the 
forest. The farmers in that vicinity seldom have any 
trouble from these Indians, in fact they owe a great deal to 
them for thinning out the skunks and foxes,' who have no 
regard for the prize fowls that wear blue ribbons at the 
fairs. 
Among the treasures of the Passamaquoddy Indians, it is 
said, is a letter from George Washington, written from his 
army on the banks of the Delaware, Dec. 24, 1776, in which 
he expresses his pleasure that the Passamaquoddies had 
accepted the chain of friendship he sent them the preceding 
February. 
Early in the afternoon the wind suddenly changed to the 
eastward and blew with great force, the cold, damp wind 
penetratmg our thin clothing until we became almost chilled 
through. Had it not been for the green branches swaying 
and twisting above our heads and the fresh meadows below 
rising high in the air. Whether enemips or friends we were 
going to find out, and in another minute we were wending 
our way quietly along the narrow path that led through a 
little patch of vegetables which seemed to be struggling hard 
for existence. 
"Who is going to rap at the door?" Ned asked, in a 
whisper, as if all the wildcats and bears around had taken 
possession of this old house and were lying in wait for their 
victims. These foolish thoughts soon came to an end, and 
we had now arrived at the door. In response to a vigorous 
rap an old Indian half -opened the door and peered out; then 
the door was opened wide, and we received an invitation to 
enter. Although the room was filled with musty air, we 
were glad to gain admittance to this strange dwelling, where 
kitchen, dining-room and parlor were all one. After finding 
each of us a comfortable seat, which was nicely covered with 
deerskins, he introduced himself as Sopahel Selmo, chief of 
the Passamaquoddy tribe, he having held that position for 
several years. On looking around, the first sight to meet our 
eyes was the huge black fireplace on the opposite side of 
the room, built entirely of turf and clay, forming a very 
rude affair. Prom a large birch log coils of bluish-black 
smoke were constantly rising. Embers were smoldering on 
ON THE EDGE OF THE GRAN CHACO. 
TOL0 BY WILLIAM KINGSBITRY TO WILLIAM H, AVIS. 
{Concluded from page U.) 
We had been at Juan's for nearly a month, when, one 
day, Juan, Rubio and I decided to pay a visit to a large 
tacamar, or artificial lake, a few miles away. The tacamar 
had been formed by building a rude dam of logs and earth 
across an arm of the river, to provide drinking water for 
the cattle when the river was low. It was nearly a mile 
in length, and half a mile wide. A succulent growth of 
grass surrounded it. On account of its extreme richness, 
this grass attracted thousands of head of cattle, whose con- 
tinuous feeding kept it cropped short, thus making easy 
traveling through it on horseback. 
Upon reaching the edge of the tacamar, we stopped to 
gaze upon a scene which I can never forget. Directly in 
front of us, and for about half a mile on either hand, was 
gathered more game of all varieties than I had overlooked 
upon before. Hundreds, yes thousands, of geese, ducks 
and swans literally hid the surface of the lake a short dis- 
tance from shore, while scurrying here and there near the 
shore could be seen countless hordes of nutrias (similar to 
our muskrats, but larger). There were also multitudes of 
jacares (alligators) which, in all directions, lay on the 
water and on the shore, basking in the sun. Cranes and 
storks of all varieties, some of them as tall as men and of 
all conceivable colors, strutted solemnly about; while huge 
turtles poked their heads out of the water here and there, 
or took their lumbering way along the shore near the 
water's edge. We watched this scene of animation for 
some little while before we went down to the shore of the 
tacamar. On our way, we found there was almost as much 
animal life in the grass as there was on the water. 
I shot several nutrias from horseback and Juan killed a 
couple of jacares; he also caught and turned two large 
turtles on their backs on the shore. I thought I would, 
get a few geese. Selecting a large bunch that was feeding 
near the shore some distance from me, I worked my way 
through the grass in their direction. Although I was not 
cautious in my approach, the geese appeared not to notice 
me. Singling out a large, tine bird, not over 30yds. away, 
I fired and he rolled over. The flock did not rise as I had 
expected, but simply stopped feeding and began to swim 
SOPAHEL SELMO, CHIEF OF PASSAMAQUODDY TRIBE. 
the large, flat stone in front, while the old black kettle was 
steaming away its cheerful notes from the crane above. 
Upon a threadworn mat, which was his household luxury, 
lay a large black dog, which for days and weeks at a time is his 
only companion. In the corners and on the shelves many 
quaint and curious articles were to be seen. Weapons of fear- 
ful and wonderful pattern filled the room. A gun of ancient 
model stood against the wall, and this weapon he values 
highly for its shooting qualities. Dried apple of a coppery 
hue hung in graceful festoons from the smoke- colored beams 
above. A stock of sea-bird wings were drying on pegs over 
the fire-place, showing that many members of the feathered 
tribe had fallen a prey to the skill of this lone hunter. 
_ Probably there are cobwebs there to-day which were man- 
sions of cheerful spiders when he took possession a half cen- 
tury ago. From an opening at the back of the fire-place, 
which Selmo called his oven, a pan of steaming hot biscuits 
were taken; these, with a dish of black molasses, were placed 
on a table, and an invitation given us to sit down and enjoy 
leisurely away. I killed eight, still they did not offer to 
rise. I now stopped, as it would have been wasteful 
slaughter to continue shooting them. The water was not 
over 2 or 3ft. deep; so I waded my horse in and picked up 
my birds. 
While I was shooting geese, Juan and Rubio were not 
idle. They took the dogs with them, and, setting out 
through the grass, soon started a gama fawn. After con- 
siderable of a chase, the dogs ran the fawn down, but be- 
fore they could injure it Juan and Rubio dashed among 
them and captured the animal alive, Rubio decided to 
take it home for a pet for his little girl. 
The afternoon was gloriously beautiful and there was 
good promise of a fine evening. We decided to camp on 
the outskirts of a heavy monte. About sundown Rubio 
introduced us to a bountiful hunter's repast. He proved 
his ability to roast a goose to perfection. 
The evening around the fire was one long to be remem- 
bered. A thin, crescent moon, so faint as to cast no light. 
